Asia Time Online - Daily News
WRITE for ATol ADVERTISE MEDIA KIT GET ATol BY EMAIL ABOUT ATol CONTACT US
Asia Times Chinese
AT Chinese








 Services



 ATol Shop


 Get ATol by email


 Archive


 Currency Converter




 Information



 Advertise


 Media Kit


 Write for ATol


 About ATol


 Contact


 Privacy


 Legal






    Front Page
    

ASIA HAND
Exalted Aquino has far to fall

Philippines President Benigno Aquino's family name and his signaling of the need for deep-reaching reforms have restored a modicum of public trust in government after his predecessor's scandal-plagued tenure. Yet despite all the promise, the risk is real that despair will outlast hope - and that once again Filipinos will have bowed before a false messiah. - Shawn W Crispin (Sep 9, '10)

Hariri exonerates Syria over father's murder
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has changed his mind about who killed his father, saying claims Syria masterminded the assassination of former premier Rafik al-Hariri in 2005 are false. Speculation is growing that the international tribunal investigating the murder will indict Hezbollah. That is a red line Syria will not tolerate being crossed. - Sami Moubayed (Sep 9, '10)

There's another side to Obama's COIN
Two new reports by influential groups suggest that United States President Barack Obama should reconsider his counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy in Afghanistan. Views that prospects for success are dim add to the debate ahead of mid-term elections in the US, with voters increasingly expressing disfavor with the war. - Jim Lobe (Sep 9, '10)

Taliban winning hearts - and more
The Taliban in the Tagab district of Kapisa province, north of the Afghan capital Kabul, have stepped in to prevent men from having to pay exorbitant fees to the family of a prospective bride. Wedding bells are ringing as a result, while the Taliban reap a political benefit. - Habiburrahman Ibrahimi (Sep 9, '10)

Ahmadinejad envoys stir trouble at home
Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, under fire for appointing special envoys from his inner circle, was advised by parliamentarians this week to "follow the advice'' of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to work with, rather than bypass, the Foreign Ministry. The turf war exposes the balancing act between prudent officials and an action-oriented president. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 9, '10)

Tibetan hope for Obama's India visit
Calls from the Barack Obama administration for "substantive" dialogue without preconditions between the Dalai Lama and Beijing - and a United States demand that Nepal guarantee Tibetan refugees free passage - have increased expectations among the Tibetan community in exile that Obama will raise the Tibet issue during his maiden visit to India in November. This risks the ire of China. - Saransh Sehgal (Sep 9, '10)



Pakistan stares into a void
Muhammad Nasir from the northwestern Pakistani town of Nowshera lives in a tented village, penniless after losing his home and job in massive floods. For the time being, he and his family are being cared for by aid agencies. But for him and millions of other victims, there is no long-term plan, no vision of rehabilitation, only a looming void that militants are preparing to fill. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Sep 8, '10)

THE ROVING EYE
AfPak and the
new great game

As much as Washington may think it's in command, wily Afghan President Hamid Karzai is playing an attacking game. He has seen the future as a power-sharing deal in Kabul with no Americans involved. And, as usual, there's never a mention of the key Pipelineistan game, Washington's real reason to spend US$100 billion a year (and counting) fighting a bunch of Arab jihadi instructors. - Pepe Escobar (Sep 8, '10)

DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Will our generals ever shut up?
The US military's creeping influence over the civilian command can be seen in the ability of generals to launch media blitzes to support their own version of foreign policy. It's a post-Vietnam Pentagon taking control of the media battleground, and if the US accepts the skewed visions of these Caesars-in-waiting, it will only slip deeper into imperial mayhem. - Tom Engelhardt (Sep 8, '10)

US religious leaders condemn Islamophobia
Leaders of mainstream denominations have denounced "outright bigotry" against American Muslims surrounding the controversy over the construction of an Islamic center near New York's ''Ground Zero'' and planned burnings of the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11. Many fear such actions will fuel perceptions in the Islamic world that the United States is anti-Islam. - Jim Lobe and Daniel Luban (Sep 8, '10)

Geomancers embrace earthly intervention
A fraud case involving Asia's richest woman and sex scandals with painted ladies have sullied the reputation of Hong Kong's feng shui industry, leading the art's masters to propose an oversight body to recommend reasonable fees and deal with misbehaving geomancers. Regulating a practice based on supernatural divination won't be easy. - Kent Ewing (Sep 8, '10)

SINOGRAPH
Chinese back no-blame
equity risk

Thirty years after the birth of China's economic leap forward with the foundation of the Shenzhen special economic zone, President Hu Jintao is calling for more reforms. Already ahead of him, individuals and companies are changing the country's financial environment by supporting with hard cash choice and risk over state and security. - Francesco Sisci (Sep 8, '10)

Islamic lite versus deep state in Turkey
In a referendum this week, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party is trying to strike another significant blow against the "deep state" of high-ranking military, security services and the judiciary. Passage of the amendments would hit the custodians of founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secularist legacy and bolster a version of democracy that has allowed an Islamic "lite" party to rule. - Andrew Novo and Scott B MacDonald (Sep 7, '10)

Doubts cast over China's 'wonder weapon'
Security circles are abuzz with China's Dong Feng 21D, the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile. With its speed and long range it has the potential to deter United States aircraft carriers from sailing in the West Pacific. Taiwan is particularly concerned, but it may just be that there is more hype than reality in the "wonder weapon". - Jens Kastner and Wang Jyh-Perng (Sep 7, '10)

China spells out its fears
According to Chinese ambassador He Yafei, Beijing has one overarching priority and that is to put its house in order. From an unusual briefing He held last month it is clear that the urbanization of China is the greatest of the many revolutions the country has faced. And with about 20% of the world's population, China's ability to deal with the transition has daunting consequences. - Alexander Casella (Sep 7, '10)

North Korea blows off the cobwebs
This month's party conference in North Korea is an anachronistic showcase for the Leninist hierarchy, if not quite the lavish display of a full-blown congress. Still, as men in badly tailored suits clap only when instructed, the meeting could be one of the last reminders of a bygone era - and it could deliver big news - just as happened in 1980. - Andrei Lankov (Sep 7, '10)

Blair's book hits a nerve in Arab world
The memoirs of former British prime minister Tony Blair have been blasted by the Arab press for their unapologetic stance towards the Iraq War and Blair's alliance with former US president George W Bush. With painful memories of the bad blood, civilian deaths and mayhem unleashed by the "war on terror", many Arabs would prefer to see Blair complete his march into history. - Sami Moubayed (Sep 7, '10)

New model needed in Vietnam
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung wants private sector development to help the country secure "fast and sustainable" growth. Yet, with its external finances suffering a sharp deterioration, poorly implemented reforms will lead Vietnam into crisis rather than prosperity. - Anh Le Tran (Sep 7, '10)

THE BEAR'S LAIR
The myth of growth
The past decade has seen the great economic myth of continued exponential growth undermined. It is possible that technological progress, and so the potential for improved living standards, may not be exponential at all. - Martin Hutchinson(Sep 7, '10)

LIFE IN TALIBANISTAN



Married to the mob
Ten years ago, while the Taliban were filling their coffers with taxes from the world's largest smuggling ring, a reincarnation of the Queen of Sheba was playing her part in a sprawling west Afghan underground network of women refusing to be locked indoors. Today, the Afghan-Pakistan border is still porous, and the Taliban seem to believe they may even get their Talibanistan back. - Pepe Escobar (Sep 3, '10)

This is the conclusion of a three-part report.
PART 1: 'Throw these infidels in jail'
PART 2: The degree zero of culture

<IT WORLD>
Delhi targets Google, Skype
The stay of execution granted Research in Motion before it has to give the Indian government access to BlackBerry encrypted data services does not mean a retreat by New Delhi, which now has Google and Skype in its sights. (Sep 3, '10)
Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science, gaming and gizmos.

BOOK REVIEW
Al-Qaeda and
counter-terrorism

Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979
by Thomas Hegghammer

An engaging study of the rise of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, this book traces the movement’s evolution from a Pan-Islamic volunteer force in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to a fermentation period in Saudi Arabia and finally its emergence as a global jihadi network. It also shows how Saudi leaders have successfully used softer techniques to undermine al-Qaeda's mass appeal. - Brian M Downing (Sep 3, '10)

Rusal tries serving
up yuan bonds

Bare months after serving up shares in his Rusal aluminum company to Hong Kong investors, Oleg Deripaska is putting yuan bonds on the menu. But the garnishes required by the Russian oligarch are of a different order to those that sweetened US fast-food giant McDonald's recent yuan bond offering. - John Helmer

Turkish strength fragile
in referendum run-up

Hopes for a "yes" vote in this weekend's constitutional referendum in Turkey have helped drive up share prices, but with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's popularity slipping along with business confidence, optimism is fragile. The International Monetary Fund, meanwhile, is indicating its own doubts about the future. - Robert M Cutler

Sri Lanka shuns West,
finds solace in East

Sri Lanka's clothing workers are waiting apprehensively for the impact of the end to European Union trade preferences as of last month. The government in Colombo appears less concerned, as China and India become more closely involved in the island's economy. - Amantha Perera

Searching for yield - at a cost
US fixed-income investors, from the household sector to pension funds, are being driven by Federal Reserve policies into longer-term securities. When the dam breaks, many investors - and the entire economy - could be in for a rude awakening. - Kieran Osborne

 THE MOGAMBO GURU

Unlimited
useless money

President Barack Obama's latest US$50 billion stimulus shows that the United States is truly given over to unlimited printing of money and the horror of high inflation. The world of US$31,000 gold may soon be upon us - which is great for those not dreamwalking as the nightmare unfolds.

FROM THE BLOG
It will get ugly
The state and local government crisis in the United States represents a generational opportunity to burn out the base of the Democratic Party. The cure for the crisis is to break the public employee unions. It has to get ugly. - David Goldman





Tributes to Allen Quicke
Editor-in-Chief of Asia Times Online who died on August 17, 2010.



[Re US religious leaders condemn Islamophobia, Sep 8] Maybe we can write about how Turkey treats Cyprus or its Kurdish minority? Or even better why don't you write about how wonderful the life of Christian missionaries is in Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
Ysais Martinez
United States
   Go to Letters to the Editor



1. Doubts cast over China's 'wonder weapon'

2. New case for US reparations in Laos

3. The myth of growth

4. China spells out its fears

5. North Korea blows off the cobwebs

6. Islamic lite versus deep state in Turkey

7. Blair's book hits a nerve in Arab world

8. Latin America pays for China ties

9. New model needed in Vietnam

10. Turkish history to sink to oblivion

(24 hours to 11:59pm ET, Sep 7, 2010)






 
 


All material on this website is copyright and may not be republished in any form without written permission.
Copyright 1999 - 2010 Asia Times Online (Holdings), Ltd.
Head Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East, Central, Hong Kong
Thailand Bureau: 11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110